With the Fallout TV series debuting on Amazon Prime Video next month, the marriage of the rich lore of the Fallout gaming franchise and the new televised narrative will be a hot topic for the next several months. But since it's a slice of a larger universe, Bethesda Game Studios' Todd Howard made sure the adaptation didn't step on any toes. He had to ensure that the TV series and the next mainline video game entry maintained distinct narratives.
Howard, well aware of the demand for Fallout 5, stepped in to make sure that the TV show's production didn't overlap with his content plans for the game.
In conversations with Den of Geek, Howard, alongside Fallout TV series co-showrunner Graham Wagner and executive producer Jonathan Nolan, revealed the careful planning that took place to safeguard the future of the Fallout franchise. Howard was clear about certain boundaries, stating, "Well, there were some things where I said, 'Don't do this because we are going to do that in Fallout 5.'" This directive was to ensure that the TV series, while set within the Fallout universe and canon to the game's events, wouldn't encroach on the narrative territory reserved for Fallout 5.